Most lists of the best Xbox Series X games focus on the best FPS games, open-world games, or just the games with the best graphics. That leaves puzzle games unfairly overlooked for just how satisfying and creative they can be. Many people shrug off the entire genre thinking they’re all just a series of number or logic puzzles and nothing else, but that only accounts for a small fraction of modern puzzle games. They now have deep narratives, mind-bending mechanics, and satisfying mechanics. Whether you’re looking to see what you’ve been missing in the puzzle game space or are looking for the next game to test your brain power, here are the best puzzle games on Xbox Series X.
Donut County
71%
Platforms
PlayStation 4, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Ben Esposito
Publisher
Annapurna Interactive
Release
August 28, 2018
We’re starting out with a very casual puzzle game, but a cozy and great game you can probably beat in a single day. Donut County is an indie game where you control a hole to swallow objects on the ground to grow larger and be able to swallow even larger objects. It’s a bit like a reverse Katamari. The game is split up into different stages where you need to find the right order to swallow objects to eventually clear the level. This isn’t as easy as just going for the small items first, but doing things like manipulating the environment to access objects floating on water or using a catapult to trigger switches. It’s fun and will make you feel clever without much friction.
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The Talos Principle II
88%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
Genre
Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Croteam
Publisher
Devolver Digital
Release
November 02, 2023
If friction is what you’re looking for, The Talos Principle 2 is one of the more demanding puzzle games we’ve played. Your goal is always to find a way to the other end of a puzzle to press a button, which is obviously never simple. Played from first person, you will do a lot of moving and aiming lasers, placing boxes on pressure plates, and arranging fans. The puzzles alone are worth the price of admission, but there is also a very strong sci-fi story here about humanity creating AI before going extinct that needs to complete puzzles to prove their sapience. The lore does tie directly with the first game, which is excellent as well, but not required to fully enjoy this one.
Botany Manor
62%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Balloon Studios
Publisher
Whitethorn Games
Release
April 09, 2024
So many puzzle games are divorced from reality. That does allow for an unlimited number of puzzle types that push the boundaries of creativity, but sometimes you need something a bit more grounded to understand. Botany Manor is a puzzle game all about cultivating plants. This game is played like a classic point-and-click adventure where you need to find the right method for growing each plant in your book. Granted, these are magical plants that require some odd things to grow, but all the clues and hints needed are found within the main manor you play in. It is a very calming and rewarding game that is accessible to almost anyone.
Superliminal
81%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Pillow Castle Games
Publisher
Pillow Castle Games, Noodlecake Studios
Release
November 12, 2019
Speaking of games that play with reality, Superliminal is a game that revels in optical illusions and forced perspectives. Playing in first person, you will manipulate objects that change in size based on your perspective. For example, if you needed to reach a high ledge but only had a small cube, you could bring it close to your camera so it appears big, then impose it onto the world at that size to climb up. It is a bit of dream logic, but it makes sense within its own world and never breaks its own rules. The controls can be a bit wonky with what it is trying to do, and the game is a bit short, but it is still a cool experience unlike anything else.
Return to Monkey Island
82%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5, Mac, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Point-and-click, Puzzle, Adventure
Developer
Terrible Toybox
Publisher
Devolver Digital
Release
September 19, 2022
Point-and-click adventures are basically just narrative puzzle games when you break them down. Return to Monkey Island is filled with puzzles requiring you to explore areas, talk to tons of charming characters, and find the right uses for unintuitive items. This game isn’t as cryptic as the older entries in terms of expecting you to know what two obscure objects need to be combined to solve a puzzle and even has hits if you need them. It is also one of the few puzzle games that tries and succeeds to be genuinely funny. Having prior knowledge of the older games makes the entire adventure more satisfying, but you can still enjoy the game on its own without feeling like you’re missing anything major.
Braid: Anniversary Edition
61%
Platforms
Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Platform, Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Thekla, Inc
Publisher
Netflix, Thekla, Inc
Release
May 14, 2024
Braid helped kickstart the modern indie scene on consoles by being a puzzle game the likes of which we’d never seen before. Even now that tons of games play with time, there’s still something special about the way this game approaches it and makes it understandable yet tricky. Braid Anniversary Edition is the same game with touched-up graphics, better animation, 40 new levels, and even a commentary track from the developer. That is all a timeless game like this needs to stay relevant. Even if you played the original all those years ago, it is never a bad time to revisit this classic.
Return of the Obra Dinn
89%
Platforms
PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre
Puzzle, Adventure, Indie
Developer
Lucas Pope
Publisher
3909
Release
October 18, 2018
Playing a detective has been a dream so few games manage to capture. Giving players enough options to be wrong, but not making it so difficult or cumbersome to provide the right solution is a delicate balance. Return of the Obra Dinn solves this by asking you to explore a ship frozen in time and determining each of the crew’s names, how they died, and who killed them. That turns the entire ship into one large puzzle box. There are 60 total crewmembers to identify and uncover their fate, so the spiderweb of events is very tangled at first but that just makes it all the more satisfying to slowly pull apart one thread at a time.
